National News

New Bill Would Let FTC Regulate Photoshop

Looking too good could literally become a crime under newly proposed federal legislation, which would give the Federal Trade Commission power to regulate Photoshop image editing software use in advertising and other media.

The Truth in Advertising Act of 2014 or “Anti-Photoshop Act” was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this year by Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen along with Democrats Lois Capps of California and Theodore Deutch of Florida. If enacted, the bill will empower the FTC to regulate and reduce the use of Photoshopped images in media.

“The Truth in Advertising Act has already sparked more awareness of the need to address the unrealistic body image often promulgated by advertisers,” Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement, adding she’s “hopeful that this bill will get the hearing it deserves.”

Federal Trade Commission officials would also be charged with reporting to Congress on the use of Photoshopped pictures ”altered to change the physical characteristics of bodies and faces” of people appearing in ”advertising and other media,” according to the bill.

The commission would also have to develop a plan to reduce the use of altered photographs and blueprint a mechanism for regulating digital picture editing across industry media.